Quintarianism
Quintarianism is the main religion of the nation of Chalion, and is based on the worship of the Five Gods. The Quintarian Church has traditionally held a position of great political influence in Chalion, though that is expected to change in the near future. Creation of the World In the Quintarian religion, the gods did not create the world: "The world was first, and the world was flame" is the first verse of The Fivefold Pathway of the Soul. The World-Soul proceeded from the world itself, but could not perceive itself. Thus, the World-Soul split in two so that it could see itself, and this split created the Father and the Mother. In their love, they created the Daughter and the Son, and divided the four seasons up among themselves. The Pantheon There are five gods (and goddesses) in the Quintarian Pantheon: Father The Father represents closure, justice, and "deaths in good season", as typically symbolized by the closing of the year. His associated color is grey, and he is associated with Winter and the ending of the year. Mother The Mother is regarded as the goddess of healing and health, and most clinics and hospitals in Chalion have adjoining chapels dedicated to her. The Mother's color is green, and her season is Summer. Son The Son is the patron of friendship, nature, and hunting. He is also associated with war. His colors are red and orange, and he is related to the Fall. Daughter The Daughter is goddess of birth and life, symbolized by the opening of the new year. Youthfulness and virginity are also within her domain. Her color is blue, and she is associated with the Spring. Bastard The Bastard is by the far the most interesting of the Five Gods. It is said that at the beginning of the world, a great demon-lord was granted a soul by a saint of the Mother, and then took up service in the Mother's name, to banish all other demons from the world of matter. He was finally slain, but the Bastard was born of his union with the Mother. From him, the Bastard inherited control of all the demons he had overcome. As the master of Hell, the Bastard maintains balance in the universe. He also accepts those souls that are rejected by the other gods. His color is white, and he has no associated season. Instead, he has a holiday every two years following Midsummer. Worship of the Five Gods The Sign of the Five is a small ritual performed whenever the Gods are invoked. The signs are usually made with the thumb, first, and second fingers of the right hand briefly touching the forehead, mouth, belly, and groin before spreading the opened hand over the heart. Prayers to the gods are traditional before mealtimes and before sleep. Quintarian churches have a four-lobed structure, with each lobe dedicated to a god. There is a small separate building behind the Mother's lobe dedicated to the Bastard. The quarterly changes in season are accompanied by ceremonies honoring the god of the upcoming season. This is also typically when churches gather their quarterly donations from the local populace. Sainthood Quintarian sainthood is described not as being awarded to those who are particularly good or faithful, but as something that happens when the gods need a tool for a job, and find someone who has relinquished their will to the gods. These people give up their own drives and desires, allowing their god to "fill them", and thus fulfill what is usually a temporary divine mission. Sainthood is often described as a burden, and the relation of the saint to the god is described in somewhat unflattering terms - "beast of burden" is one of them. Despite this, persons who have claimed sainthood are described as being "addicted" to the service of their god above all other vices. Orders Each of the gods has their own Order, which seeks to carry out their particular god's earthly duties. Until recently, both the Son and Daughter had military orders; the former was dedicated to the external security of the nation, and the latter was concerned with internal security. These Orders were heavily involved in the 1772 Blessed Revolution, where Order members fought to overthrow the Roya. They lost their military nature in 2009 when the Chalionese government was officially secularized. The Mother's Order still exists mainly as a charity organization, though it once operated hospitals and clinics across the nation. The Father's Order was once the judicial branch of the government, but was recently abolished and turned into the Department of Justice by the Cazaril Administration. The Bastard's Order was a corps of Sorcerors; people who possessed one of the Bastard's demons and had special powers. The Order was broken up by the Cazaril Administration, which perceives demon magic to be a threat to National Security. Quadrenism Quadrenism is the most common Quintarian heresy, and turns on denying the divinity of the Bastard. Quadrenes say that the offspring of the Mother and the demon-lord was demonic, rather than godly. Thus, they omit the mouth when they sign the gods, and fold the thumb in rather than splaying it with the rest of the fingers. Until recently, Quadrenes were persecuted in Chalion by the theocratically-controlled Grand Council. Category:Chalion Category:Religion